Unlike the Plan
by WeasleyJunkie
Summary: She thought they could just be together after her six year absence. She didn't know he had found someone else.
1. Default Chapter

The woman was perfect. Her waist was the smallest she had ever seen in a woman, considering the round firm posterior she seemed to posses. Her legs were long and shapely; they seemed to go for miles, with no signs of varicose veins, bruises or cellulite. She was wearing a short black skirt and a black top, which seemed to go perfectly with the long mane of dark hair that fell a few inches above her bum. She couldn't see her front, as the woman was facing the front door of The Burrow, four red-haired boys holding onto her hands and smiling at her, but could easily see she was a new addition to the ever growing Weasley family. The oldest child looked to be no older than six. She wondered who she was married to, a twinge of pain as it could easily be his wife ran through her, but she shook that feeling aside, not knowing where it had come from in the first place.  
  
It was in that instant that Molly Weasley opened the door, greeting all the children with a tight hug and kiss and ushering them inside before she turned to the women and gave her a delicate kiss on the cheek, making the woman move sideways to accommodate Molly from her large belly.  
  
'And I guess it just keeps growing' Hermione thought, as she made her way towards the front door.  
  
Even after Arthur had become the Minister of Magic, The Burrow hadn't changed much. Still the chicken ran loose, the house looked like it could topple any second, and the only noticeable difference was the coat of fresh paint and the new security measures. She had been forced to Apparate half a kilometer from the front door, as the house was protected by many charms which were there to uphold the security of the Minister. Not that he needed to worry, as Hermione had heard nothing but good things from everyone, and it looked as if he would be keeping the job for a very long time.  
  
It seemed Ginny had finally caught Harry, or the other way around, as it was he who had proposed to her. She had been ecstatic that day, sending off an owl (it took the poor dear 4 whole days to recover) in the middle of a snow storm with the words "I'M GETTING MARRIED TO HARRY AND YOU WILL BE THERE!" scrawled across the parchments, her handwriting loopy and a happy face in the signature. That had been three months ago, and Ginny had planned her wedding so that Hermione could attend it (or so she had told her)  
  
She had been in England for three days. She was living with her parents, but was looking for a flat near St. Mungo's, as she had been offered a job in the Emergency Unit. She wanted to move as soon as possible, as she had not lived with her parents since she was eleven, and didn't intend to start at her twenty-four years of life. Harry and Ginny's wedding was to be tomorrow, a special family dinner that night, to which Hermione had been invited to.  
  
She didn't think of herself as family, having left them behind for years, but Ginny had tried to keep in touch regardless. The few letters written to each other were short and noncommittal. As Hermione had tried to focus on her studies, and owls willing to fly from Greenland to England were sparse, communication had lacked.  
  
She often wondered what had happened to Harry and Ron. Before she had set off, Harry had told her he would be going into Auror training. It seemed only yesterday that they were having that conversation in the Gryffindor common room.  
  
*  
  
"You know, one would find it hard to believe that the Head Girl is out of bed at this time of night" Harry said, as he walked to the couch across from Hermione and plopped himself on it. "What are you doing then?" He offered her a smile.  
  
"I just couldn't sleep. It's hard, knowing that tomorrow it's all going to be gone. That I'm going to be gone." Hermione had replied, her eyes never leaving the fire, watching Harry from her peripheral vision.  
  
"There's nothing to worry about. We've defeated Voldermort. We've taken our NEWT's. You're on your way to becoming the best Medi-Witch the world has seen. All is well Hermione, relax, honestly."  
  
She had turned and looked at him then, reaching her hand out and grabbing a hold of Harry's. "I'm going to miss you so much, Harry. I may go mad without you. Seven years together, and now I'll be gone for almost as long. I don't know if I'll bear it." She tried her to show her brave front, but could feel the tears tickling at her eyes.  
  
"Hermione, I love you. I think I'll be the one going mad without you, not the other way around. Who's going to get me to do my work and organize my time in the Auror Academy then? They'll kick me out in no time at all without you!" His smile grew as the words left his mouth.  
  
She was so pleased for him. It seemed as if he had finally made a decision! "So, you're going then? You've decided!? When Harry?! Oh, I'm so happy for you!!" she said, as she got up from her chair and pounced on him, giving him a breathtaking hug. Harry had not been sure as to whether he would have a future, but seeing as he'd survived the encounter with Voldermort, he had had many choices, and it seemed becoming an Auror had been the most appealing.  
  
Harry was making some exaggerated gestures as to his lack of oxygen, causing Hermione to giggle and get off of him. She could leave him knowing that Harry had chosen what was to become of him, and Hermione knew he would go about doing it splendidly. Sitting back down, the common room was once again silent. It was then that Hermione spoke.  
  
"Harry, will you please take care of him for me?"  
  
"You didn't even need to ask. You know I'll always be there for him, as long as he lets me. You know how he can get sometimes, but he's been my best mate for some seven years, I've got the bloke figured out better than even he does, I'll keep him straight."  
  
Tears fell from Hermione's eyes and down her cheeks. After getting off the Hogwarts Express tomorrow, she would take a portkey to Greenland, to her studies. She felt Harry move and come towards her, reaching out to her for a hug, which she readily complied to. She would be leaving Ronald Weasley tomorrow and all that came with him. As Harry patted her back and tried to soothe her, Hermione cried desperately that night because she would be leaving her heart the very next day. *  
  
She was awakened out of her thoughts as she saw that she was in front of the door. Instinct told her to turn back quickly; to run and hide forever, but her logic told her to stay, as it had been six years and surely they would not hold a grudge. Besides, she hadn't even greeted anyone since her arrival, having been busy searching for a new home and unpacking the essentials, all the while spending time with her Muggle relatives. She was about to ring the door when Molly's kind face appeared in front of her. Molly had opened the door a bit wider, not quite believing her eyes, held back a sigh (unsuccessfully) and practically squeezed Hermione to death in a hug, all the while saying how happy she was to finally see her. 


	2. Surprise

It looked to have taken Ginny all her strength to pry Hermione from Molly, and as Hermione was about to thank her, Ginny had thrown herself just as her mother had seconds earlier, leaving Hermione with little air to breathe. The Weasley females were squealing with joy, asking questions at non-human speed, all whilst hustling her into the kitchen. Hermione hadn't opened her mouth once, and it wasn't until a familiar male voice sounded that Hermione was able to concentrate on her surroundings.  
  
"Will you let the poor girl breathe, for Merlin's sake?! She just got in, after having ignored us for six years, give her some time to explain herself!" Harry had said, a smile on his face letting her know he didn't really mean any of it.  
  
She was standing in the Weasley kitchen surrounded by red-heads. She easily picked up the twins whereabouts, as they were trying to sneak something into the juice bowl behind their mother's back, a scowl coming from two pretty twin blondes, which Hermione figured where their partners. Charlie was standing near the door, his hand being held by a small girl with pigtails. Bill had been talking to Arthur, his long mane gone, being replaced by well-styled hair and a small silver stud on his ear. Percy had been trying to maneuver a little boy into a jumper, having stopped at seeing her and giving the boy the opportunity to flee sans jumper. Ginny and Harry were holding hands besides Molly, who looked about ready to burst with tears. She spotted several more females, the women she had seen at the door looked strangely familiar but she hadn't the time to look. The kitchen and family room was littered by children of various ages, all red-haired, running and screaming, paying her no attention. She immediately took notice of Ron's absence, but decided not to comment on it, as she was sure his whereabouts would be explained in the course of the evening.  
  
"Is that any way to welcome your best friend back after so long?" she had retorted back, putting her hands on her hips for further emphasis.  
  
"Some best friend. Six ruddy years and all I got a handful of letters. Either you thought yourself too important for us, or you just didn't have much time, eh?" he replied, smirking.  
  
Hermione had laughed at that "I'm afraid it was the latter. I may know more medi-Magic that any witch alive, but talk to me about what's going on in the world, and I may look like a Muggle being told of Magic! Now come here and give me a hug, don't infuriate me further!"  
  
"It's so good to see you, Hermione" Harry said, as he walked up to her and hugged her "We've missed you so much, and we're so happy you're here now" he had added in her ear, so as no one else would hear.  
  
Harry let Hermione go, and each Weasley family member approached her, ready to greet her with open arms.  
  
"Welcome back Hermione! You remember Fleur right? This is Ethan, our five year old son, and Emilie, our three year old" Bill said, as he gave her a brief hug.  
  
Fleur leaned in and kissed Hermione on the cheeks with an "It iz nice to zee you again" Bill's children greeted her and ran off into the back yard.  
  
Charlie came next. He had grown a beard and was still holding the little pig-tailed girl's hand, a petite brunette coming out of the kitchen and holding onto his other hand. "This is Jasmine, my wife, and Jessica, our four-year old daughter." Hermione received a hug from all of them, and they moved out of the way, as Percy seemed to be making his way over to her.  
  
"Hermione, it's ever lovely to see you." He had said in a cordial business- like tone, then giving her a smile and a kiss on the cheek. "Penny dear, will you go get the kids so they can meet Aunt Hermione for me, dear? Thank you. You remember Penelope, right? Of course you do, you came to our wedding." He paused, as Penelope came in from the front yard with seven children in tow. "Yes, well, that's Arthur, he's seven. Next to him are Mandy, Matthew, Rita, Carsten, Katherine, and Charles. Come say hello to Aunt Hermione children!"  
  
All seven of Percy's children approached her and held out their hands, making Hermione giggle and shake each of theirs in turn. Penny approached her and said "Well, you can't deny they're Percy's, right?" and giggled right along with her. The children then ran back to the yard, leaving Hermione with Fred and George in front of her. "Hermione darling, it's good to see you again. How has Greenland been? Still Green as ever I suppose. You remember me, right? Good ol' Fred, your buddy from years back. This fine looking fellow to my right is George. To my left is my lovely wife Kathleen and to the right of George is his wife, Crystal." He bowed his head a little, and so did his twin, earning them an eye-roll from Hermione.  
  
"You know, I may have been gone a few years but I still know who's who. And you Fred, are George, and YOU George, are Fred. I haven't suddenly grown stupid you know? It is however," she added "Nice to meet you two." She said to Kathleen and Crystal, who gave her a wide grin and a hug.  
  
"The kids are running around somewhere," Fred said "just look for the two sets of twins, they're ours.or so we're told" he said, earning both him and George a slap in the back of the head.  
  
"I didn't say anything, love" George complained, while rubbing the sore spot.  
  
"But you thought it, and that's enough" Crystal said, to which Hermione laughed.  
  
The woman from the front door stepped up. Her gray eyes narrowed and her full red lips smirked. She didn't try to hug her or make any contact, only crossed her arms in front of her full breasts and said "Granger."  
  
It was in that very moment that Hermione pinpointed who this was; none other than Pansy Parkinson. 


	3. Shattered

She had to be dreaming. Any moment she would wake up and find herself getting ready to meet the Weasleys after not seeing them for six years because at that very moment she had a hard time believing Pansy Parkinson was standing in front of her, the picture of perfection, and what she could only assume was the remaining Weasleys' partner.  
  
"Nice to see you too" Pansy smirked, uncrossing her arms and flipping her long hair over her shoulder.  
  
The Pansy Hermione remembered looked nothing like this. She remembered the dark haired girl in her school robes, her hair drab and her eyes dull. Her lips had always been colorless and even though Hermione remembered her as a curvy teenage girl, it didn't add up to what she had in front of her. The one thing she was sure of, of course, was that nose. Hermione would give all her galleons in Gringotts to Gred and Forge if that was Pansy's real nose.  
  
As if reading her mind Pansy leaned towards Hermione's ear and very quietly said "We're all allowed, aren't we? Some of us shrink our teeth; others fix our nose a bit. Perfectly normal, right?" and moved back, a wide grin on her lips.  
  
She was about to respond when Pansy interrupted her, her voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "This is James, he's five. Next to him is Jason, who's three. The one with the blue jumper is Daniel, four. And the wee one is Ian, two." She patted her large belly and continued "This one is due any day now. I've promised Ginny not to have him today or tomorrow though, even if it means crossing my legs and holding him in throughout the celebration."  
  
She heard the Weasleys laugh, along with two voices at the same time, Harry and Molly's, "Not 'him' yet. It can always be the girl this time, Sy" and "Don't be silly dear, if it happens, it happens" respectively.  
  
Pansy chose to respond to Harry's comment "Yes Harry, I haven't been carrying the baby around for nine months. I haven't had four of them already. I don't even know what having a boy feels like. I don't know that this one is EXACTLY the same as all my other pregnancies. This," she pointed at her belly "baby is going to be a girl as much as it's going to have my dark hair"  
  
Laughter resounded throughout the household again. Hermione didn't think Pansy was very amusing, but apparently the rest of the household did. Even Ginny was trying to hold in a smile. Traitor.  
  
Ginny obviously noticed Hermione's frown and quickly sobered up. She told everyone to go to the table and get ready to eat, while she and Hermione went and got the children from their playing area. The Weasleys all followed Molly into the dining area, leaving Hermione and Ginny by themselves for the first time in six years.  
  
Hermione didn't know what to say. As she was thinking about her words, Ginny said, "I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't think it my place."  
  
Anger surged through Hermione. How could Ginny not tell her something like this?! In the back of her mind, Hermione always thought Ron would wait for her, no matter how long it took her. Apparently she had been wrong. He had gone on with his life. Hermione still had a hard time believing...PANSY!  
  
"Maybe you should talk with Ron first. I'm not going to meddle in your business. This is between you, Ron and Pansy." Ginny said a spark of something in her eyes. "I am really glad you're back. But you can't honestly have expected everything to remain the same"  
  
"This is between me and Ron, Pansy has no business in it" Hermione replied, as she walked outside and saw Ginny call the children inside.  
  
As they ushered them in Ginny turned to look at Hermione and said, "I'm sorry Hermione, but you can't believe there is still a 'Ron and Hermione.' It's 'Ron and Pansy' now, and you can't just shrug it off" and walked inside to sit at the large table, leaving Hermione to her thoughts. 


End file.
